Sheffield Wednesday vs Leeds United. Sky Bet Championship.
HillsboroughAttendance26,717.
Watch live on Sky Sports Football and Main Event from 7pm on Friday night
Friday 28 September 2018 18:40, UK
Sheffield Wednesday have Fernando Forestieri and Jordan Thorniley available for Friday's Yorkshire derby against Sky Bet Championship leaders Leeds United at Hillsborough, live on Sky Sports Football from 7pm.
Forward Forestieri completed his three-match suspension as he sat out the 2-1 win at Aston Villa last Saturday. Defender Thorniley is in contention after missing the game at Villa Park due to a calf injury. Midfielder Kieran Lee (knee) and defender Joost van Aken remain out injured.
Leeds look set to have the same starting XI on Friday as they have had for their last three matches. Marcelo Bielsa's men suffered their first league loss of the season last weekend when they were beaten 2-1 at home by Birmingham, but the Argentinian, who has admitted he got his tactics wrong in that contest, says he will not be making changes in personnel.
That will mean fit-again midfielder Adam Forshaw starting on the bench following his recovery from a foot problem. Striker Kemar Roofe is not yet ready to make his return to action after injury, and the same applies to defender Gaetano Berardi and playmaker Pablo Hernandez. Forwards Patrick Bamford and Izzy Brown are also sidelined.
Sheffield Wednesday completed a league double over Leeds United last season for the first time since the 1959-60 campaign.
Leeds haven't lost back to back away league visits to Hillsborough against Sheffield Wednesday since April 1965.
These sides haven't shared a goalless draw in a league match since April 1969, with each of the last 40 meetings seeing at least one goal scored.
Sheffield Wednesday are currently enjoying a six-game unbeaten run on home soil (W4 D2) - they last went seven league games unbeaten at the Hillsborough Stadium in February 2017.
Since a run of 11 away league games without a victory between December 2017 and April 2018 (D3 L8), Leeds have gone four games without defeat on the road and remain the only unbeaten side away from home in the Championship (P4 W2 D2 L0).
Wednesday striker Gary Hooper has scored a brace in both of his Championship starts against Leeds for the Owls.
This should be a cracking game live on Sky Sports Football on Friday night! Sheffield Wednesday have won four of their last six games and did superbly to claim all three points at Aston Villa last weekend.
Leeds suffered their first real setback of the Marcelo Bielsa era when they lost against Birmingham and looked for the first time to really be missing the likes of Kemar Roofe and Pablo Hernandez. There should be goals here but I'm backing the Owls to edge it.
David Prutton predicts: 3-2 with Steven Fletcher to score first (140/1 with Sky Bet)
